President, PM pledge to continue support for Kashmiris

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–President Alvi calls out at int’l community on its double standards towards HR abuse in occupied valley

–PM Imran says Indian atrocities cannot weaken Kashmiris’ resolve to achieve right to self-determination

 

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have pledged to continue moral and diplomatic support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination and against the illegal Indian occupation over Jammu and Kashmir.

In their separate messages on Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed across the world on February 5, both the president and premier said the dream of peace and prosperity in the region would remain elusive without resolving the Kashmir dispute.

“The indifference of the international community towards grave human rights violations by Indian occupying forces in Kashmir raises doubts and hints at double standards as every atrocity goes unpunished,” the president said.

It reduces the United Nations (UN) Human Rights charter to mere verbal rhetoric, he said and added that Feb 5 offered an opportunity to pay tribute to the unparalleled commitment of the Kashmiris for the attainment of the legitimate right to self-determination.

“We reassure our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that we will remain consistent in our principled position on Kashmir. The entire Pakistani nation stands with its Kashmiri brethren in their valiant struggle to achieve the legitimate right to self-determination. It is our firm belief that the Kashmiris will succeed in their struggle,” he added.

The president observed that on this day, the government of Pakistan and its people showed the global community that they had not forgotten the long pending dispute of Jammu and Kashmir and the struggle of those who stood against woeful Indian occupation.

“Behind its false narrative of ‘killing militants’, India is trying to justify state terrorism in held Kashmir,” he said and added the report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was a watershed moment for the Kashmiri community across the world.

He further said that Pakistan supported proposals contained in the report and reiterated its demand for an expedited establishment of an inquiry commission to look into human rights’ violations being carried out in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK).

Meanwhile, PM Imran said that even continuous Indian atrocities could not weaken the resolve of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Brutalities of the Indian occupying forces in Kashmir continue unabated and so does the spirit and courage of Kashmiris in their fight to achieve the legitimate right to self-determination,” he said.

The premier added that the report of the OHCHR on Jammu and Kashmir echoed Pakistan’s repeated calls to the international community to take stock of India’s brutal use of pellet guns, indiscriminate firing, use of human shields and promulgation of the draconian Armed Force Special Powers Act (AFSPA) as well as Public Safety Act (PSA).

He said Kashmiris had fervently been demanding an end to India’s illegitimate rule and the number of tortures, molestation and killings perpetrated by the Indian forces against innocent Kashmiris had become a case study in unprecedented violence.

“Thousands of innocent Kashmiris have been brutally tortured and extra-judicially killed by Indian occupying forces that enjoy full immunity under draconian laws,” PM Imran said.